Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Saturday, 12 September 2009
The reception theory (media studies theories)
Extending the concept of an active audience even further, in the 1980s and 1990s a lot of work was done on the way individuals received and interpreted a text, and how their demographic (gender, class, age, ethnicity) affected their reading or in my horror film trailers case the way that they view the film and react to it.
As my film will probably be an 18 or a 15 rating, the audience will not be as passive as if it was a pg or even a 12a rated film, this is due to the demographic of the person watching the film and relates back to the earlier theory based on the hypodermic needle theory.
This theory was based on Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model of the relationship between text and audience - the text is encoded by the producer, and understood by the reader, and there may be major differences between two different readings of the same code. However, by using recognised ideas and conventions, and by drawing upon audience expectations relating to aspects such as genre and use of more famous actors, the producers can position the audience and therefore create a certain amount of agreement on what the idea means.
As my film will probably be an 18 or a 15 rating, the audience will not be as passive as if it was a pg or even a 12a rated film, this is due to the demographic of the person watching the film and relates back to the earlier theory based on the hypodermic needle theory.
This theory was based on Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model of the relationship between text and audience - the text is encoded by the producer, and understood by the reader, and there may be major differences between two different readings of the same code. However, by using recognised ideas and conventions, and by drawing upon audience expectations relating to aspects such as genre and use of more famous actors, the producers can position the audience and therefore create a certain amount of agreement on what the idea means.
Friday, 11 September 2009
Evaluation of magazine front covers
One of the conventions that I have noticed throughout my analysis of film magazine covers is that the title of the magazines all have bold lettering which really stands out, out of the two different magazines I have analysed the title which I prefer is the lettering and the colour of the text of the title in EMPIRE.
Another convention that I have noticed is the main character in the main feature film in the magazine takes up a large proportion of the front cover; this is done to show the importance of the character and the actor themselves.
We also see the name of the film halfway down the image of the main character; this shows the viewer the information that they need to know in order to attract their attention to the magazine and reading it.
Throughout the magazines I have looked at I have noticed that the less important films are listed in the bottom half of the magazine as well as the usual features of the magazine.
Something else that I have noticed that I would like to feature in my magazine front cover is the 3d effect that has been used for the Max Payne front cover and a lot of the empire front covers.
Another convention that I have noticed is the main character in the main feature film in the magazine takes up a large proportion of the front cover; this is done to show the importance of the character and the actor themselves.
We also see the name of the film halfway down the image of the main character; this shows the viewer the information that they need to know in order to attract their attention to the magazine and reading it.
Throughout the magazines I have looked at I have noticed that the less important films are listed in the bottom half of the magazine as well as the usual features of the magazine.
Something else that I have noticed that I would like to feature in my magazine front cover is the 3d effect that has been used for the Max Payne front cover and a lot of the empire front covers.
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Analysis of horror film posters
I have noticed that the main conventions of the horror film poster genre are that the edges of the posters are a lot darker when compared to the rest of the poster, this can be seen especially strongly in the Friday the 13th poster, I will definitley be adding this to my subsidiary product.
Another convention I have noticed is the colour of the text,this in almost all of the film posters I have analysed is a dark red colour, this is related back to blood which is especially prominent in the horror film genre, I will also add this to my poster.
Another convention of this genre of poster which I would look to add to my poster is that the centre of almost all of the posters has the main character as seen in the one missed call poster or one of the main focal points of the film be it an item or a place as seen in shrooms and Amityville horror.
Another convention I have noticed is the colour of the text,this in almost all of the film posters I have analysed is a dark red colour, this is related back to blood which is especially prominent in the horror film genre, I will also add this to my poster.
Another convention of this genre of poster which I would look to add to my poster is that the centre of almost all of the posters has the main character as seen in the one missed call poster or one of the main focal points of the film be it an item or a place as seen in shrooms and Amityville horror.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Analysis of my second questionnaire
1.The results from my second questionnaire show me that the respondents to my questionnaire think that tense scenes for example chase sequences help make a good horror film, as well as scenes that make the viewer jump for example something unexpected happening like someone jumping out from somewhere and attacking the victim.
2.The responses to my second question is that the best way to make a film scary is to make it dark, this could mean setting a lot of the scenes at night, some of the respondents also mentioned that gory scenes make a film scarier.
3.The responses to my third question were mixed but the majority of people wanted the voiceover to not say anything until near the end of the film where the voiceover should say the title of the film.
4.The majority of the respondents to my fourth question preferred the background music to cut in and out throughout the trailer instead of being constant throughout the trailer.
5.The most popular response to the fifth question was that the information necessary is the name of the film, the names of the actors, the age rating of the film, the films website and the release date of the film.
6.A lot of my respondents said that one of the most important factors in making a good film trailer is that the trailer should be fast paced with action scenes, not have too much dialogue in and to have a good voice over.
7.Some of the trailers for other horror films include jeepers’ creepers, The Last House on the Left, final destination and hostel.
2.The responses to my second question is that the best way to make a film scary is to make it dark, this could mean setting a lot of the scenes at night, some of the respondents also mentioned that gory scenes make a film scarier.
3.The responses to my third question were mixed but the majority of people wanted the voiceover to not say anything until near the end of the film where the voiceover should say the title of the film.
4.The majority of the respondents to my fourth question preferred the background music to cut in and out throughout the trailer instead of being constant throughout the trailer.
5.The most popular response to the fifth question was that the information necessary is the name of the film, the names of the actors, the age rating of the film, the films website and the release date of the film.
6.A lot of my respondents said that one of the most important factors in making a good film trailer is that the trailer should be fast paced with action scenes, not have too much dialogue in and to have a good voice over.
7.Some of the trailers for other horror films include jeepers’ creepers, The Last House on the Left, final destination and hostel.
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
Media studies theories - The social action theory
The social action theory developed by Anderson and Meyer, suggested that media has hidden messages that influence their audience. Using this theory a director can portray the actors in any which way they wish; this allows the director of the video to interpret anything that they want in any way to the audience, this theory suggests that the actor is seen as an independent object by the viewer. The subject at hand is totally controlled by the actor, and their actions aren't controlled by any cultural or social order. This theory is similar to the hypodermic needle theory; in the way it suggests actions are noted as acceptable by the passive audience without the need to accept them. Rather than the objects and events surrounding the actor being the thing that interprets the meaning of the scene, it's the actor that gives importance to the events and objects in the film, taking things into any context the producer wishes to portray.
Examples of this are the impact that more violent media has on its audience. There's evidence showing a link between the aggressive behaviour of a child (a typically much more passive viewer than an older person) and the amount of time spent viewing violent media, this allows for anything the actor wants to interpret the objects and events as, the viewer subconsciously makes note of the objects use in the environment, and not the moral, social and cultural structure of what the actor is actually doing (this is the action theory).
I could use this theory in my film teaser trailer by deciding what I want to interpret the actors as being, and using their actions to describe that. For instance I may choose a very dark moody setting. But the actors may be acting positively towards it, and this may make the dark setting appear more normal despite this setting.
Examples of this are the impact that more violent media has on its audience. There's evidence showing a link between the aggressive behaviour of a child (a typically much more passive viewer than an older person) and the amount of time spent viewing violent media, this allows for anything the actor wants to interpret the objects and events as, the viewer subconsciously makes note of the objects use in the environment, and not the moral, social and cultural structure of what the actor is actually doing (this is the action theory).
I could use this theory in my film teaser trailer by deciding what I want to interpret the actors as being, and using their actions to describe that. For instance I may choose a very dark moody setting. But the actors may be acting positively towards it, and this may make the dark setting appear more normal despite this setting.
Media studies theories - The hypodermic needle theory
The hypodermic needle theory was first introduced in the early 1900s; the theory was an attempt to explain how the general public would react to mass media. The theory suggests that audiences passively receive the information transmitted via the media without any attempt on their part to process or even challenge the data.
This theory was developed in a time when the mass media (newspapers and magazines) were still fairly new to the general public - radio and cinema were less than two decades old. The governments of the world were just beginning to realise the power that advertising could have in order to get across their message.
The Hypodermic Needle Model suggests that the information from a text passes into the mass awareness of the audience without the audience really having to think about what the message really is, the theory suggests that the audience are manipulated by the creator of the media product, the modern day issue raised by the hypodermic needle theory is that the amount of violence seen in video games, films (especially horror films and music videos for example will cause the viewer(usually a younger person) to be affected by the violence impassively or not. This could be part of the reason that horror films are typically rated as 15 or 18.
This theory was developed in a time when the mass media (newspapers and magazines) were still fairly new to the general public - radio and cinema were less than two decades old. The governments of the world were just beginning to realise the power that advertising could have in order to get across their message.
The Hypodermic Needle Model suggests that the information from a text passes into the mass awareness of the audience without the audience really having to think about what the message really is, the theory suggests that the audience are manipulated by the creator of the media product, the modern day issue raised by the hypodermic needle theory is that the amount of violence seen in video games, films (especially horror films and music videos for example will cause the viewer(usually a younger person) to be affected by the violence impassively or not. This could be part of the reason that horror films are typically rated as 15 or 18.
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